  Author(s): Peter Mayle Genre: Fiction Review: A number of years ago I discovered the writing of Peter Mayle when I read A Year In Provence . Then came Toujours Provence and I was completely hooked. He’s the kind of guy I feel I could pay a call on (should I ever find myself in the south of France) say "Hey Pete!
How’s it hangin’? " and grab a wine glass from the cupboard. He probably makes all of his readers feel that way. That’s probably why he gets inundated with visits from strangers every summer, too. I was hesitant at first to check this book out of the library. In fact, had I found it in a book store I would have probably compared the length to the price and returned it to the shelf without buying it.
Now I want to own it because it’s one of those books I’ll want to re-read on some snowy afternoon by the fire. Mayle’s books just touch me that way. During my Virginia Woolf feasting days long ago I found an obscure little book of hers titled Flush . In it she told the story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s lap dog. It was charming and I still have it on my shelf. Mayle’s book goes a step further. He tells his dog’s story, but through the philosophical mind of the dog himself.
It is, in a word, a dog’s autobiography. And it’s an enjoyable read. Boy, as the dog is named (who is described as "a dog whose personality is made up of equal parts Boswell and Dr. Johnson, Mencken and A.A. Milne"), writes about his earliest days when left alone with his eleven siblings after his mother mysteriously disappeared, then goes on to describe his hungry and lonely youth on the farm of an abusive Frenchman who would rather he be a hunting dog.
Boy preferred to watch ants. His tale then takes us to his happy placement with the Mayle family and their two dogs whom he calls, "The two old bitches. " Boy appreciates Proust, contemplates Camus, and although he is ultimately perplexed by human behavior, he is an astute observer. After his story is told Boy shares his observations on such subjects as human behavior, cats, tennis balls, and everything else that enters a dog’s reality.
He concludes with Advice To The Young Dog , a numbered list that includes such wisdom as, "Never bite vets, even when attacked from behind by a chilly thermometer. They mean well. " If, like me, you’re a Peter Mayle fan, you won’t be disappointed with this book. If you haven’t read any of his work, you should begin now. That is, if you can look at the stresses and complexities of everyday life with a certain lopsided acceptance. Verdict: 
